


To See You

by Darkestri



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Dark Will Graham, Fluff, Gen, If You Squint - Freeform, M/M, Not Beta Read, Will Graham Knows, Will Graham's Dad - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-04
Updated: 2020-10-04
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:28:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,018
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26805883
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Darkestri/pseuds/Darkestri
Summary: Hannibal was right to call Will a Mongoose when his father had taught him to hunt the snakes that slithered by.
Relationships: Will Graham/Hannibal Lecter
Comments: 7
Kudos: 100





	To See You

To be seen is to be understood. That was a concept Will knew well--even before Hannibal Lecter.

Will saw his father like no one else. He understood him just as well as Will did any other killer. However, at a young age, Will only had the actions of his father to base himself on. His mother out of the picture, there was no other authority figure Will could look up to. His father was never much--that much Will knew for sure.

Their lives had never been the most stable. He remembered how much they moved from pier to pier, never staying in one spot for very long. The moves were methodical and frequent. Every six months to the day, Will helped load their things onto the boat, and they would sail off in a new direction.

When Will's mind finally solved the puzzle that was his father, he had been arrested on seven accounts of premeditated murder.

His father was a serial killer, and twenty years after his arrest, he rotted in a maximum security prison. Will occasionally received a call from him--not that he answered. The thing was, years after his father's conviction, Will could spend days even months without a passing thought about him. The news now brought up Will's identity only in TV specials.

Will wished he could cut his father out of his life completely.

On another note, Will found it strange that Jack Crawford never once brought up his infamous serial-killer dad. You know, with all the time that he spends diving into the minds of people like him. Everyone knew about the strict background checks the FBI did. They're a prerequisite to any type of governmental job. Will had been deemed too unstable to become an agent, and he was sure that Martin Graham had some part in that decision as well.

It was like Jack didn't know who the infamous Martin Graham was--or at least how Will was related to him. Maybe he didn't care enough to find out.

…

Will recognized what Hannibal Lecter was immediately. The man exuded the same air as every other killer he'd encountered. Yet, he was subtle, polite in his posture, and direct enough to persuade Jack's favor. Hannibal wore a well-tailored mask--and he was European.

Hannibal Lecter hid in plain sight. Truly, Will felt it was a wonder this man hadn't been caught yet.

Alone, Will knew he held Hannibal's interest. From the way he lifted a fork-full of eggs to his mouth to the way his gaze settled just above his eyes, Hannibal tracked his every movement. Will watched him calculate his next moves like well-greased cogs. Hannibal would tilt his head, then raise the inflection in his voice. His words were disarming but neutral--never hostile.

In certainty, Will predicted that Hannibal Lecter did not expect Will to truly see him. Maybe not this early. With all of Will's efforts to fade into the background, talk of his empathy disorder always buzzed in the psychological field. He could see it clearly. The faint darkness which lurked under the surface of man had a tendency to reveal itself to Will without warning. Despite the perfect appearance Hannibal Lecter wore, Will's gaze looked past it, forcing the veil back.

Now, if only Will could figure out which one he was…

…

His head hurt, his body ached, and Will was seeing things that didn't exist. But at this moment, he stood in Hannibal's kitchen clutching a nice bottle of wine. "Won't you stay?" Hannibal had asked him. Yet his only response was to claim that he had a date with the Chesapeake Ripper.

Perhaps staying couldn't hurt.

His admission to stay stretched a small smile across Hannibal's lips. Maybe for one night he could forget the nature that is Hannibal Lecter and simply enjoy the friendship he offered to Will.

…

Will watched as Hannibal re-entered the world as the ER doctor he used to be. His hands made swift work in saving the life of some poor man in the back of an ambulance.

The Ripper is eating them, Will thought.

He could only stare. For a brief moment, Hannibal stared back. Will felt strangely calm at this revelation. Was it his intimate relationship with death that kept him unbothered? Or maybe it was his ability to empathize with everyone around him.

Days later Will would show up on Hannibal's doorstep, drenched head to toe. Hannibal let him inside, leading them both to the kitchen. Their interaction remained silent until Will broke the tension. "I keep asking myself how I missed what I did when I know for a fact that it's the first thing I noticed about you." Will's words came out a garbled mess. His breath was labored like he'd run a marathon.

"I'm not sure I follow, Will." Hannibal's hand faltered. Will recognized a small kind of stiffness climb its way up Hannibal's neck. He was making a decision.

Will continued his explanation, "I recognized the mask you wore from the first time we met, the first meal we shared, but I couldn't see which one you were."

"You knew, but you kept silent." Hannibal stepped closer to Will. They stood intimately close, and Hannibal reached to cup the side of Will's face.

"I did." Will's gaze darted to the knife in Hannibal's free hand.

"Tell me, Will. Do you often find yourself keeping secrets for others?"

"No more than you do. Only for the people I care for." Will's mind briefly flashed to the image of his father. He watched Hannibal's demeanor lighten. The palm of his hand trailed down his cheek as it pushed away his dark curls. Will sighed as the pressure of the situation passed.

Then came the worst news Will had heard in a long time.

_FBI'S WILL GRAHAM THE SON OF SERIAL-KILLER MARTIN GRAHAM!?_

Will cursed as he shut his laptop a bit too forcefully. Freddy Lounds was at it again, and this time Will wondered what he'd done to deserve it. 

Maybe he should be asking himself what he hadn't done.

**Author's Note:**

> I may or may not write more in this type of "AU", I guess, but it seemed like an interesting concept to me. I know the fic didn't really go anywhere as this was more of a way to get this idea OUT of my head. I hope you enjoyed this mess.


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